Spring is here, and so are flourishing germs and viruses. Many children and adults are calling in sick to schools and companies because of stomach flu, viral infections and the like. Could the major cause of many of these illnesses be the lack of people washing their hands?

I was raised by my parents and teachers to wash my hands several times during the day — before and after I ate, when I went to the restroom, when I came in from playing outside and whenever they felt that my hands were dirty. My grandmother and mother called this type of action “home training.”

Their teaching and coaching became a habit that I maintain today. However, I am saddened by the fact that many people do not wash their hands even after leaving a public restroom. Yuck! That sickens me because public health officials always stress that citizens should constantly wash their hands to avoid spreading germs.

I suspect that Rockfordians can avoid some hospital visits, stomach dysentery and pharmacy visits if we would simply wash our hands, cover our mouths when we cough and encourage others to do likewise. Just this week, I observed a middle-aged man leaving a public restroom without washing his hands. He gave it no thought, probably because of poor habits.

He quickly joined hands with a small boy waiting outside the restroom for him and went merrily about his shopping. Would you want to shake someone’s hand if you knew that they left the bathroom without washing their hands? What kind of other poor habits is the man teaching the small boy?

Would you want to hold hands and pray with someone if you knew that they blew their nose and did not clean their hands afterwards? Would you want to eat in a restaurant where the cooks, waiters, hostesses and customers did not wash their hands? Would you want to shake your boss or co-workers’ hands if you knew that they did not regularly wash their hands?

What about hand hygiene in hospitals? When I worked as a seminary chaplain at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, we were trained to wash our hands before we entered a patient room and when we exited the room. I am happy to report that my doctor and nurse wash their hands before and after meeting with me. I do the same even to this day. Many illnesses in hospital are complicated due to infections. I believe that many infections flourish and spread due to the failure of some people to wash their hands.

While we must work to remove illegal guns off the streets of Rockford so that we can reduce the violence in our city, we must first reduce the public sicknesses that dirty hands are causing.

Page 2 of 2 - Be kind, thoughtful, loving and sensitive to others by washing your hands constantly during the day. Teach your children, siblings and employees to wash their hands. After all, the first life that you may be saving by washing your hands is your own. A civilized people can transform our city by washing one hand at a time.

Yes, I have already washed my hands several times today, and after I finish writing, I will wash them again. Please join me at the sink.

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth Board is the senior pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church of Rockford and a community member of the Rockford Register Star Editorial Board. If you would like to comment, email opinions@rrstar.com.